The transportation of articles within a structure, or between multiple structures has posed, to some degree, a problem. Many transportation options exist today as commercially available products, for example, conveyer belts, pneumatic tubes, gimbled carts, and mobile robots. Mobile robots, or Autonomous Guided Vehicles, are vehicles that have been equipped with a drive system under computer control which allows autonomous guidance between two locations.
Although, there is significant economic incentive to introduce mobile robots into hospitals and laboratories, relatively little progress has been made towards using mobile robots to deliver hospital supplies. For example, the physical movement of linen, medical specimens, pharmaceuticals, blood products, patient charts, x-rays, and meals cost huge amounts annually for hospitals with over 500 beds.
Towing trailers with a rear mounted towing apparatus on AGV's are well known in the art. Commonly a commercial hitch and ball are mounted at one end of the AGV, usually the rear, whereat a trailer comprising a releasable socket and tow bar is connected.
Robotic and automated vehicles for delivering or transporting material indoors have been developed and utilized in a number of applications. One well-known application is the automated mail delivery vehicles and robots. Rather than being an independent robotic vehicle, this is an automatic guided vehicle following a prepared track, such as a painted ultraviolet track positioned on the floor.
In the hospital environment some companies have developed robotic couriers for hospitals. The robotic couriers were essentially wheeled cabinets. These robotic couriers have many disadvantages; for instance they are only useful for transporting materials that can fit in or on the associated cabinet installed with the robot. In some of the commercially available solutions the robot vehicle drives in below and lifts the cart. Meanwhile this solution requires that the cart is specially built for that purpose in order to provide the necessary room for the robot vehicle below its frame.
US2004093650 discloses a mobile robot system for performing a plurality of separate operations comprising at least one autonomous wheeled mobile robot having at least one wheel-driving motor, an on-board computer; means for navigation, orientation, and maneuvering in an environment with moving obstacles; a sensor system; and a wireless communication system for receiving and sending signals. The mobile robot system disclosed in US2004093650 is useful for hauling materials on a variety of carts or wagons using a coupling hitch hook bar as cart attaching mechanism. Meanwhile, the cart attaching mechanism US2004093650 is not able to freely move over a pivot point and is not suitable for hauling carts on an uneven support. Thus, there is a need for flexible cart attachment mechanism on an automated guided vehicle suitable for attaching a variety of carts securely.
All of the above discussed prior art has substantial disadvantages. It is the object of the present invention to improve upon the prior art and provide a cart or wagon pulling deduced reckoning guide mobile robot system useful for industrial applications, such as in hospitals, assembly production, supermarkets and like.